Why I Make Bone Broth My Go-To Winter Beverage

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I am a devoted follower of healthy eating crazes. I try them all—perhaps out of curiosity to see if they’ll work, or what they taste like, or if there is anything out there can make me feel less tired—even if I don’t believe the shaky science used to push their popularity. Still, experimenting with food is a temptation I just can’t deny. Right now my fridge is stocked with Golden Milk—a mix of ginger, turmeric, and coconut milk—and there's a bag of powdered spirulina in my pantry. I recently bought individually packaged wheatgrass shots which I have yet to try, but I did manage to get all the way through my stash of bottled Aloe Vera. Frozen pouches of Osso Good’s bone broth are currently taking up all the space in my freezer.

Of all the strange, gross, and only nominally beneficial food products to which I have subjected my body, bone broth has been the one that I have stuck with the longest. I began drinking it as a potential remedy for digestive issues—bone broth is supposed to “reduce gut inflammation,” according to Dr. Axe, who I trust unquestioningly (it's okay, you can laugh). To be honest, I don’t feel much different after drinking it for six months now, but I have actually come to enjoy it.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: Does it taste good? No, it does not. Do not expect to sip on a salty, aromatic cup of chicken soup if you take up drinking bone broth. You can, of course, sprinkle salt and pepper on top if you want to enhance what is an otherwise frankly bland flavor, although I never do. I embrace the broth for what it is: a hot, after dinner drink, that settles my stomach and warms my body.

For the time being, bone broth has taken over tea as my nightly drink. Why have I become so dedicated bone broth, if I haven’t noticed any stark changes in my health? Whether or not you believe the hype around bone broth as a miracle worker that will instantly cure all your ailments, the truth is, it does contain as many as 13 grams of protein per serving (usually around 12 ounces) and it’s packed with collagen from the bones themselves.

I have yet to encounter a simpler way to get these benefits into my diet. After dinner, I heat up 12 or 16 ounces in a saucepan until it’s bubbling, and drink it straight out of my Pyrex measuring cup. When it’s that easy, you have no excuse to not give it a shot. Here are my four favorite bone broth brands that make adding this drink to your diet all the easier:

The classic: Pacific Organic Chicken Bone Broth

Courtesy of Amazon

This is my go-to brand of bone broth. I’ll grab three 32-ounce containers from Whole Foods, and drink around half of the carton at a time. It doesn’t taste like much, but it does contain 9 grams of protein, and the cardboard box features a twist off cap for easy pouring.

Osso Good has the distinction of being the first beef bone broth I have yet to try. I know I just got done saying that bone broth isn’t tasty, but Osso Good has managed to create a broth with a salty, savory flavor that might remind you of a hearty stew, the perfect gateway into bone broth for a first-time drinker.

The luxury: Kettle + Fire

Courtesy of Amazon

Kettle + Fire makes the most expensive brand of bone broth I’ve tried yet, and the boxes are smaller than Pacific. There’s no reusable cap either. On the plus side, it does contain more protein than the Pacific bone broth—about 10 grams—and the small box is perfect for a one-serving drink you could take to work or even on vacation.

If you’re already a practiced bone broth drinker, I highly recommend trying Bonafide Provisions Drinkable Veggies line of pureed vegetables mixed with bone broth and then bottled. I picked up a couple bottles of the Thrive flavor at Whole Foods—which is made with carrots, fennel, lemon, sea salt, onion, and bone broth, of course—with the intention of sipping it throughout my workday, and found that it’s nearly impossible. This is not a reflection of the taste, but it proved more challenging than I imagined it would be to sip on a thick carrot soup as though it were a beverage. Here’s how I would drink it: Pour it into a saucepan, add 12-ounces of water, heat it up, and enjoy it as a soup. If you’d rather stick to the broth alone, Bonafide Provisions also makes its own version.